Debbie Rudd is a facebook friend and author of the new book, Costa Rica Where the Ordinary is Extraordinary: Loving the people and culture of Costa Rica. (Stay tuned for my review of her book in an upcoming newsletter.)
I admire Debbie Rudd. She is a good example of the possibilities of what life can be like for a single woman in Costa Rica. She speaks Spanish, doesn’t have a car, and lives on a smaller budget that we do. And she was nice enough to share her budget for the month of January. You can tell a lot about her life by the way she spends her money and time.
Debbie’s total monthly income is $1276.87 (USD):
- Social Security: $160.00
- PERA (Teacher Retirement): $1,116.87
Here’s Debbie’s budget breakdown for January totaling $1259.82 (USD):
- Personal Expenses:
- Rent (3BR, 1 Bath, Tico house): $400.00
- Electric: $23.54
- Water: $10.01
- Internet: $23.63
- No TV: $0
- (Our Spanish class was on a break all month but would normally be $40-not included here in total!)
- Cell phone recharge: $9.29
- Taxi/Gas for friend: $8.64
- No Car (use free bus pass for residents over 65 daily!): $0
- Food, Toiletries, paper products, etc.: $218.05
- Dog food for two dogs: $30.00
- PO Box rental for year: $27.86
- Caja through ARCR: $86.00
- Other Medical (pills I don’t get through Caja): $25.07
- Eating out: $27.91
- Clothes: $39.37
- Misc (paint, brushes, etc): $11.50
- Repairs: $27.86
- Donations for the Homeless
- Food
- Shoes
- Medical Supplies
- School supplies, backpacks- for the poor/homeless
- Other Expenses – $89.50
Thanks Debbie, for sharing your budget with our readers.
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